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He says, “such a process re-traumatizes them and can stigmatize them forever. As one victim explains, ‘You know, my reputation has been lost because of this video…. Everybody looks down on me.’”

He points to two recent cases picked up by the media in Cambodia, where he is based, and references one organization which was accused of faking such stories “again,” and another where an “orphanage” staged an auction of children’s photos, having the children present them “to heighten audience pity, and thus, sales.” These kinds of actions by aid organizations re-victimize children.

Let’s get three things out of the way. First, for the sake of this article, I’m going to use the acronym FSP (fundraising service provider) to refer to consultants, agencies, trusted partners, vendors or any other nomenclature you (or they) want to use to describe this resource. Trying to be politically correct by constantly including all the possible titles would be too taxing.

So, You Want to Be a Speaker? Read the 2013 Speaker Report. | Avectra Blog: f you hire speakers for meetings or conferences, or if you are a professional speaker, you’ll want to check out the 2013 Speaker Report published by consulting firms Tagoras and Velvet Chainsaw. In the report, you’ll learn how associations are using speakers for meetings, conferences and other events.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

60 Minutes And The Gates-Buffett 'Giving Pledge': What They Got Right--and Wrong - Forbes: The “Giving Pledge”, the push by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to convince billionaires around the globe to dedicate half their wealth to philanthropy, has hardly been a secret effort—but now that it’s surfaced on 60 Minutes it’s gained an even higher profile. There are some obvious reasons that one might be concerned about the idea –but, it turns out, they’re not the right ones. Still, there are reasons why those serious about effective philanthropy should be worried about the model Gates and Buffet promoted on CBS.

First, the wrong reasons to be concerned. Some will see the Giving Pledge signatories as seeking only to launder their reputations

The Giving Game: Surviving Philanthropy's Schemers Dreamers & Volunteer Vixens - Come Hell or High Heels | BlogHer: I've been involved in philanthropy for nearly thirty years and I’ve seen and done it all: celebrity-studded red carpet events to grassroots community arts fundraisers; white glove garden club soirees to PTA-type fundraisers. Though the dollar amounts and locales may vary, there is one common denominator that is found in almost every fundraising endeavor:
a group of volunteer women, a.k.a “the committee,” who work behind the scenes to bring the event to fruition. Depending on the motivations of these women and the vagaries of the group dynamic, this committee can either be the lifeblood of an organization—bringing in much needed money, visibility and fresh ideas—or the death knell of it.

WASHINGTON ― The Internal Revenue Service today issued a consumer alert about possible scams taking place in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. On Nov. 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan — known as Yolanda in the Philippines — made landfall in the central Philippines, bringing strong winds and heavy rains that have resulted in flooding, landslides, and widespread damage.

Following major disasters, it is common for scam artists to impersonate charities to get money or private information from well-intentioned taxpayers. Such fraudulent schemes may involve contact by telephone, social media, email or in-person solicitations.

Yunus and his ‘Cinderella moment’: Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus called his acceptance of the inaugural Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship at the UN in New York on June 5 “a Cinderella moment”.

Giving It Away: Philanthropy In South Florida | WLRN: Wednesday is the second annual Give Miami Day. It's an effort by The Miami Foundation to focus charitable giving for local organizations. Miami and South Florida have a history of giving, though our relatively young metropolis may lack the generational giving enjoyed by older, more established areas.

GuideStar and Technology Affinity Group (TAG) Launch Simplify, an Efficient Approach to Grantmaking - Press Release - Digital Journal: WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - November 18, 2013) - GuideStar and the Technology Affinity Group (TAG) today announced Simplify, www.simplifynow.org, a new approach to information-sharing between funders and grantees. Simplify eliminates the repetitive elements of grant applications, so nonprofits can spend time advancing their missions rather than completing unnecessary paperwork, and funders can manage their grantmaking process more efficiently. Together, Simplify is a seamless, automated information flow allowing funders and nonprofits to focus less on process and more on purpose.

As you can see from Tom’s post yesterday, when it comes to fundraising planning and budgeting, The Agitator clearly believes the most important questions should focus on boosting retention and increasing lifetime value.

The Skills Businesspeople Gain on Nonprofit Boards - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: UK Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd used the occasion of the country’s “Trustees Week” to issue a call for more businesses to encourage their employees to join the ranks of nonprofit board members. Noting that there already are a million volunteer leaders in the UK, he cited a significant number of vacant board seats in the charity sector. This challenge is also prevalent among US nonprofits—and no doubt in other parts of the world, too. And as anyone who has served on a nonprofit board knows, even when there is a full complement of board members, there is always a need to consider who will come next, and how the board will renew itself over time.

Project helps charities engage diverse donors - The Globe and Mail: This fundraising success story was highlighted earlier this year at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) South Asian Philanthropy Conference in Toronto, as part of its “From Diversity to Inclusion in Philanthropy” initiative. This three-year project was organized by the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada and the Greater Toronto and Ottawa chapters of the AFP, and received support from Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Ms. Magazine | We've Got You Covered | Spring 2013: This early incident foreshadowed McCormick’s lifelong commitment to women’s equality: She became a pioneering feminist philanthropist, singlehandedly funding the research and development of the birth-control pill. And she wasn’t the only woman of her time opening her purse for women’s rights. A century ago, women of means with a political or social-improvement agenda often put their money where their mouths were. Whether their wealth came through inheritance, business success or divorce settlements, women philanthropists played important roles in shaping America’s reform movements in education, health, welfare and, especially, women’s voting rights.

Religious giving continues to lag as fewer people attend and join churches. Causes receiving the largest increases in donor funds include environmental, humanitarian, education and donor-advised funds.

Charity Navigator does not consider organizations with annual revenue of less than $1-million and has reviewed only about 7,000 of the country’s 1.5-million-plus registered nonprofits. Small Seattle-area charities tell the Times that the lack of a watchdog’s imprimatur can turn off donors who increasingly give online and do research into how potential recipients use their dollars.

The 50 Philanthropists Who Have Given Away The Most Money - Forbes: n order to separate words and actual deeds, FORBES, in partnership with the Philanthropic Research Institute, decided to rank which Americans gave the most in the last calendar year–not money pledged but actual cash deployed in the field. “Givers now want to see an impact while they’re still alive,” says PRI founder R.J. Shook, a former Wall Street entrepreneur. The Philanthropic 50 was winnowed from a short list of 1,620 people, most of whom showed up in PRI’s proprietary data?base that denoted the 50,000-plus largest individual donations to recipients for 2012.